Special Operations Forces

Special Operations Forces
commentary
SOF's Evolving Role: Warfare 'By, With, and Through' Local Forces
Linda Robinson
May 9, 2017
The Cipher Brief
U.S. special operations forces are not providing the muscle of the frontline combat troops fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Instead, they are providing meaningful support to the various indigenous forces. If they succeed, this model could become a standard option in the U.S. military playbook.
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Artificial Intelligence
blog
Artificial Intelligence Bias, Russia, Fentanyl: RAND Weekly Recap
Nov 29, 2019
This weekly recap focuses on bias in algorithms, Russia's limits in the Middle East, understanding the fentanyl crisis, and more.
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Weapons of Mass Destruction
commentary
The Mission to Counter WMD: Avoiding Missteps While Transitioning Responsibility
Daniel M. Gerstein @Daniel_Gerstein
Feb 10, 2017
Defense One
U.S. Special Operations Command will soon lead the Pentagon's anti-WMD efforts. SOCOM is well positioned to contain and reduce threats, but will need new expertise to prevent the acquisition of related material and respond to crises.
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Special Operations Forces
blog
Special Ops Women: A Conversation with Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
Apr 26, 2016
Best-selling author Gayle Tzemach Lemmon discusses how recent conflicts changed the role of U.S. military women, the missing story about women in uniform, and more.
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Special Operations Forces
commentary
Women in Special Security Forces: What the U.S. Can Learn from the Afghans
Whitney Dudley, Robert Stewart
Mar 28, 2016
Military Times
The contributions of the women in Afghanistan's special security forces demonstrate the unique value that women can bring to special operations forces in socially conservative societies. They are successful in tactical roles and in operations requiring interaction with the community.
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Counterterrorism
commentary
ISIS vs Special Ops
Linda Robinson
Dec 8, 2015
Foreign Affairs
However critical to the fight against ISIS, using special operations forces for raids represents only half of the needed military adjustment. The other half is the effort to build indigenous forces capable of taking and holding territory in Iraq and Syria.
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Security Cooperation
commentary
Keeping U.S. Troops in Afghanistan: RAND Experts React
Oct 15, 2015
The RAND Blog
Several RAND experts agree that sticking to the plan to remove all troops from Afghanistan by the end of next year would have ignored the reality on the ground and made an unstable situation more so.
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Military Strategy
commentary
How to Lose a Civil War: Lessons for Afghanistan and Syria
James T. Quinlivan
Sep 10, 2015
War on the Rocks
Recently, both Syria and Afghanistan have seen battles that demonstrate anew the potential risks of seeking to defend exposed positions. Syrian leaders seem to have recognized that there are limits to the amount of territory its military can hold. Afghanistan's leaders would be well advised to come to the same conclusion.
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Military Force Planning
commentary
Training Foreign Military Forces: Quality vs Quantity
S. Rebecca Zimmerman
Jul 15, 2015
War on the Rocks
The American model for large-scale development of partner nation armies is failing. The massive push for numbers and the attendant dilution of training is at odds with building a cohesive army with the will to stand and fight, predicated upon an unproven assumption that a “large footprint” is itself a decisive strategy.
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Military Strategy
blog
7 Lessons from 13 Years of War
Oct 16, 2014
RAND senior international policy analyst Linda Robinson addressed the annual Army USA Conference in Washington to present new research that distills lessons learned from the U.S. experience in the last 13 years of war.
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Terrorist Organizations
commentary
The Risks of Rescue
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Jun 13, 2014
The Ripon Forum
As appealing as a successful mission to rescue the 200 school girls held hostage by Boko Haram in Nigeria might appear, the use of U.S. military assets to mount a rescue attempt would be a mistake.
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Peacekeeping and Stability Operations
commentary
The Foreign Policy Essay: The Limits of Small Footprints
Stephen Watts
Mar 31, 2014
Lawfare
The history of “small-footprint approaches” should be sobering. It suggests that such approaches are good at preventing allied governments from losing against rebels, but are not very good at actually winning wars.
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Afghanistan
commentary
Train Afghans, Corral Al Qaeda: America's Enduring Mission in Afghanistan
Linda Robinson
Feb 11, 2014
Breaking Defense
The mission of preventing al Qaeda from threatening the U.S. is an enduring one that will require a long-term commitment not just to counterterrorism, but to training, advising, and assisting Afghan forces so that they are better able to prosecute their own campaign against terrorists.
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Afghanistan
commentary
Parsing Steve Walt's 'Top 10 Mistakes' About Afghanistan
Paul D. Miller
Feb 10, 2014
Foreign Policy
Paul Miller takes issue with four of Steve Walt's 10 points in his latest essay that lists President Obama's withdrawal deadline as one of the top 10 biggest mistakes in the war in Afghanistan.
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Special Operations Forces
commentary
Five Profound Choices Special Ops Face Next Year
Linda Robinson
Nov 1, 2013
Breaking Defense
If 2013 was the year of decisions, 2014 will be the year special operations forces implement their roadmap for the future. But where exactly does that road lead? The trajectory will be determined by several budgetary and policy choices that the U.S. military, policymakers and Congress will make in 2014.
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Counterterrorism
commentary
How War on Terrorism Has Evolved
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Oct 24, 2013
USA Today
Special operations to capture terrorists are more dangerous than drone strikes, and nimble terrorist adversaries will develop countermeasures to make them even more difficult. But they are politically more acceptable and offer opportunities for intelligence and the visible delivery of justice.
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Counterterrorism
commentary
The Future of Counterterrorism: Fewer Drones, More Partnerships
Linda Robinson
Oct 21, 2013
The Washington Post
Drones are just one of three principal U.S. counterterrorism tools. Special Operations forces are now relying on a more balanced mix of tactics: Launching raids and developing partner forces offer more versatility than drone strikes and will probably become the wave of the future as America's big wars wind down.
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Special Operations Forces
blog
Robinson Book on Special Ops Earns Plaudits
Oct 17, 2013
Linda Robinson's One Hundred Victories shows how special operations forces are evolving to become the go-to force for military operations worldwide. The author, a senior international policy analyst at RAND, draws from her own on-the-ground reporting and interviews with key players inside the national defense community.
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Decisionmaking
commentary
Surprise! Now What?
Dave Baiocchi, D. Steven Fox
Aug 27, 2013
the October 2013 edition of Leadership Excellence magazine and on The RAND Blog
Who is best prepared for responding to surprise: a Navy SEAL, an NFL coach, or a Fortune 500 CEO? The answer is that all three professions have something to teach us: The NFL coach is an expert in pre-planning; the SEAL is great under pressure; and a good CEO has become an expert in responding to strategic threats.
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Business Process Improvement
q&a
Surprise: Q and A with Dave Baiocchi and D. Steven Fox
Aug 14, 2013
Dave Baiocchi, RAND senior engineer and professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School, and assistant policy analyst D. Steven Fox discuss their new study,
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Special Operations Forces
commentary
Special Ops Global Whack-a-Mole
Linda Robinson
Apr 7, 2013
USA Today and CFR
A new model for our nation's special forces could follow the approach used in Colombia and the Philippines, where special forces planned ongoing campaigns that use numerous advisory, civil affairs, and informational activities to address those governments' weaknesses in providing security and ending conflicts.
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Counterterrorism
commentary
New 'Rule Book' to Set Parameters for Targeted Killings
Patrick B. Johnston
Dec 5, 2012
The Orange County Register
A constrictive rule book against direct-action counterterrorism techniques could be in tension with operational realities. But it would go some way toward establishing the legal and ethical framework under which such difficult decisions are made, writes Patrick Johnston.
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Global Security
blog
The Case for Expanding Assistance to the Syrian Opposition
James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins
Aug 1, 2012
What is important for the U.S. government to do at this stage is forge relationships with those likely to next govern Syria. The United States should up its assistance to the rebels, providing military assets needed for success that only the United States possesses in adequate number.
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commentary
Fighting the Insurgency
Bruce Hoffman
Jun 8, 2004
Washington Times
Published commentary by RAND staff.
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